Our attempt at being MF!!

newgirly

Great news cath If you are happy with the area/neighbours then staying and extending is a great option, cheaper and less stressful. Lots of fresh plans for.this weekend then I am guessing now!

BookWorm

Happy that you have reached a decision that you are happy with Cath :T Have a lovely weekend x

smallholdingsister

Just lost a post - internet.grr.

smallholdingsister

[COLOR="rgb(75, 0, 130)"]If kids are starting to expect trips out then that's when I would let them stay home and be bored.

I think its when their best play happens.[/COLOR]

muddywhitechicken

CathT wrote: »

We have decided to stay.

In my experience, selling a house is tortuous... Even 7.5 years later, it's too soon for me to want to put myself through that stress again!
Glad you've made a decision you're happy with

CathT

Clarey008 wrote: »

I think it is a good idea to be flexible, a potential buyer may not mind waiting for you to find another house but on the other hand it could be a deal breaker for them. It also means you are not stuck in a chain. With a bit of luck you may find somewhere to move to quickly & avoid the added cost of renting.

Not straightforward is it. Hopefully or decision to stay will work out!

jeanangeo wrote: »

Wow, I am struggling with a simple decision of how much to start OP with... Sorry, can't advise as I have never been in this situation and it's one of those that requires a crystal ball but I send my best wishes.

Thank you jeanangeo, making OP's gets quite addictive. I have been in this position many many times! It's been an ongoing dilemma since we had the children!

smallholdingsister wrote: »

Cath. SLOW DOWN.
Selling houses is not easy or fast. What does your DH think?

I am so impatient SHS hence our urgency with the new decision yesterday. DH is much more laid back so he is my balance

CathT

babyb06 wrote: »

De-lurking.....We moved a few years ago and as we had an offer on our property with a fixed date they had to move (3 months away) we knew we had to be careful with chains. House we bought had ppl moving into rented on sale to ensure no chain, we thought great!

But it turned out to be a lot of hassle - once paperwork was trundling along seller refused to commit to a rental agreement until exchange had occurred, because of the high turnover of rental property that meant in reality he couldn't start to look for a rental property until exchange occurred. So he wanted a month between exchange and completion which would have jeopardised our sale as he had been slow with paperwork earlier in the process.

We flat out refused and were going to walk away - we had no choice - it would mean us moving out of property A, renting for fortnight (hotel?) and then moving into property B. At the last minute he saw sense, but that caused a nightmare as we'd cancelled the move!

Because of that experience the offer of seller moving into rented would not appeal to me!

From your perspective maybe you need to consider the rental market in your area - how quickly do properties move? Would you need a lengthy gap between exchange and completion in order to sign up to a rental? Such details would be something I'd be asking a seller in your position.

Just wanted to give an alternative perspective. Feel free to ignore!

PS - I really like reading your diary - please keep it up!

BabyB

Thanks for your post BabyB, I used to read your diary, do you still keep it up?

lulabelle1 wrote: »

On the surface of it, advertising with no chain and going in to rental seems like a logical solution, however, having previously considering this, all of the points I raised above are very real issues and really need to be looked in to fully before you make any kind of decision. (Until recently DH was a mortgage advisor for one of the big lenders and the mortgage issues you face alone could be a nightmare before the minefield of rental issues).

Sorry to be so negative but I'd rather share what I know from experience that see you go along with thinking you have a solution when it might all fall down around your ears

I hadn't considered the whole applying for a new mortgage situation, just thought of the equity sitting in the bank!

Goldiegirl wrote: »

Very much agree with this post.


Plus, if you go into rented accommodation, and you find a house you want to buy, you'd want to complete at the end of your tenancy period. This could cause you a lot of stress, as the chain in the purchase might not allow a convenient exchange and completion date. You'd risk having to renew the tenancy for 6 more months, or, even worse, have to move to another rented property, so that'd be three moves in a short time.


On balance, I'd find it less stressful to stay where I'm living now, and wait it out

Thanks goldiegirl, that is now our plan. We will still get our dream house

lulabelle1

Congrats on making the decision, it's a wonderful feeling isn't it?

CathT

Definitely Lulabelle. Of course I still worry things will go wrong but we are keen to get the ball rolling. The previous vendors had plans submitted for a single storey so hoping a 2 storey will also be passed. It is going to cost a bit to start the process. We already have a quote from an architect so I have split it into 3 stages.

Stage 1 (4 week process) £666
Stage 2 (8 week process) £793. Following this can get builders quotes.
Stage 3 (during build) £557

We therefore need to find this money from income. The c/tax free months will help us and I will reduce the amount we currently throw at the cc. From DH basic wage on Friday I have 'found' £380 and I always underestimate his income (provided he gets paid correctly!) so there should be extra there.

I will ring the architects in the morning and check availability. It's just awkward getting DH and me at home at the same time in the week.

I also plan to increase our s/o overpayment by £100. This takes us to a total of £800 mortgage repayments and my calculations show that doing that allows us to borrow the extra without adding on too many years. Currently I will be 47 and although I want to be MF sooner it wouldn't be disastrous to add 3 years on if we are going to have a massive (to us!) 4 bedroom home.

Goldiegirl

Well done, I'm glad you have made a decision that leaves you feeling comfortable.


I'm not a fan of moving house. I've only lived in three houses in my entire life. Yet one of Mr Goldie's uncles moved about 30 times in his adult life. They'd stay in a place about 18 months, then find something they didn't like about the house and move on. I'd rather put down roots!